Allen Toussaint Movies
Greg MacGillivray's Hurricane on the Bayou offers images of the natural beauty of New Orleans, as well as footage of the devastation the city suffered after Hurricane Katrina. The soundtrack is full of some of the most famous names in the city's rich musical history, and the film is narrated by Meryl Streep. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Meryl Streep
- 2005
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The biggest names in modern music all come together on one stage for this landmark concert organized to raise funds for the relief and rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Katrina and featuring special appearances by a number of New Orleans legends. Featured performers include Aaron Neville, Simon & Garfunkel, Jimmy Buffet, John Fogerty, Elvis Costello, Dave Matthews, Irma Thomas, Buckwheat Zydeco, and Lenny Kravitz. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
It's hard to overestimate the importance of the city of New Orleans in the history of American popular music; New Orleans was where jazz first took root, and the city's rich gumbo of musical influences (African, Caribbean, and French accents mingling with jazz, blues, gospel, and pop structures) helped to steep the creative melting pot that allowed rhythm and blues and rock & roll to grow. There's nothing like the sound of New Orleans jazz, funk, and R&B, and filmmaker Michael Murphy offers living proof in his documentary Make it Funky!, which examines the Crescent City's vibrant musical history while showing some of the city's greatest musicians on stage. Make it Funky! includes concert performances by Allen Toussaint, The Neville Brothers, Lloyd Price, The Meters, Snooks Eaglin, Walter "Wolfman" Washington, and many more. Bonnie Raitt and Keith Richards also make guest appearances and talk about how the New Orleans sound impacted their own music. Make it Funky! went into release in the fall of 2005, just as Hurricane Katrina was devastating New Orleans, making its portrait of the city all the more poignant. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Few states can even come close to rivaling the rich musical heritage of Louisiana. From country to rock & roll to Cajun to zydeco to jazz, and on and on, the roots of American music are in Louisiana. This documentary from director Michael Murphy takes a look at the state's rhythmic history and features live performances by the likes of Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Buckwheat Zydeco, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, the Neville Brothers, and many others. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- 2001
- Add Legends of New Orleans: Allan Toussaint, Dr, John, The Neville Brothers to QueueAdd Legends of New Orleans: Allan Toussaint, Dr, John, The Neville Brothers to top of Queue
This performance program showcases many of the most famous musicians to call the Big Easy their home. Among the artists performing here are the Neville Brothers, Allan Toussaint, and Dr. John, all captured on stage at the New Orleans Jazz Festival. Blues guitarist Bonnie Raitt also makes an appearance. ~ Rob Ferrier, Rovi
- 1999
This award-winning PBS series examines the creative process of artists in different mediums. Here, the late sculptor Nancy Graves reveals how she creates a sense of "anti-gravity" in her colorful sculpture collages, which look as if they are about to tip over. Hosts Penn and Teller offer a series of visual illusions to help explain balance, employing both tightrope walker Brian Dewhurst and a teeter-totter. They throw in some sight gags to keep the video moving. Graves' finished sculpture, a sort-of-clock, is a textbook example of the laws of physics at work, even though it looks like a prop out of Alice in Wonderland. ~ Rovi
- 1999
This film is part of an award-winning series that introduces children to the creative process. The filmmakers visit with musicians, painters, photographers, sculptors, actors, and dancers to get inside their creative minds. The featured artist is New Orleans music giant Allen Toussaint. Composer, producer, singer, and piano player in the Professor Longhair tradition, Toussaint is a musical force with 40 years of experience behind him. Honored with a Louisiana Lifetime Achievement Award and as New Orleans Entertainer of the Year, he is a regular performer at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and venues throughout the world. He brings his unique talent to this program in which he and several children work together to compose a tune at the piano. Then, with the help of fellow musicians Bobby McFerrin and Jane Ira Bloom, he leads a swinging improvisation. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, Rovi
Two Southern railroad workers drive a train engine to Chicago to protest the closing of the station in Clifford, Arkansas. Will Haney (Wilford Brimley) and his friend Leo Pickett (Levon Helm) steal the engine and hope to confront the company president to prevent the shutdown. The duo gathers encouragement at every hamlet along the way as entire towns come out to lend support for the cause. The company tries to use the rural rubes to their promotional advantage, but Haney and Pickett take a stand and win an audience with aging company figurehead Thomas Clinton (Henderson Forsythe). Clinton takes a liking to the two activists and agrees to let himself be kidnapped back to Clifford. Mary Steenburgen, Kevin Bacon, and Barbara Barrie co-star in this routine but entertaining moral melodrama. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Wilford Brimley, Levon Helm, (more)
- 1984
This video features three New Orleans piano players, Tuts Washington,Professor Longhair, and Allen Toussaint. In a city steeped with piano greats, these three names are among the best. Piano Players Rarely Play Together offers a glimpse of the musicians working on numbers they planned to perform in a joint performance, while talking about how the style of each had influenced the others. The performance was canceled when Henry Byrd, better known as Professor Longhair, passed away. This posthumous film pays tribute to "Fess," and has clips from his jazz funeral. There are excerpts from the concert performed by his two musical colleagues. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, Rovi
- 1978
Always for Pleasure is a plotless cinematic celebration of the Mardi Gras. Director Les Blank concentrates less on the parades and such that the tourists get to see, preferring to dwell on the sensual pleasures of the festival. There's music aplenty, modern rock blending effortlessly with jazz and Cajun tunes. Blank has an errant eye for the bizarre and beautiful, and offers us generous portions of both. The only drawback to Always for Pleasure is that's all over in a mere 58 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Professor Longhair, Kid Thomas Valentine, (more)
- 1974
William Smith and a gang of white drug-dealers try to muscle in on black nightclub owner Rockne Tarkington in this silly blaxploitation film. What they don't know is that Tarkington -- who has a pet lion -- is skilled at martial arts and will not give in without a fight. Abby's Carol Speed co-stars with skinflick vet John Alderman. Director Chuck Bail returned with Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
